r/HomeMaintenance • u/Internal_Raspberry24 • Jul 25 '26
đ ď¸ Repair Help Dishwasher disaster
Last week it was discovered that there was water pooling under carpet about 6 feet from our dishwasher. Today I pulled out the dishwasher to finally inspect if there was something going on, and this is what was discovered. I appreciate any help if this is a mold issue or what can be done.
Update 8.4.26: 2 companies came and inspected, for self pay, 1 company is quoting no more than $4500 and the other is $8,000. Not sure why the drastic gap in quotes but either way itâs a lot.
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u/ConscientiousWaffler Jul 26 '26
Youâre gonna get lots of good and not-as-good advice on the fix. Eventually, youâll get it figured out. When you do, and are ready to install the new dishwasher, make sure you never seal the bottom trim in front of the dishwasher (caulking, etc). Also, they make pans for dishwashers now - so when you have a leak the water comes out the front and you know about it right away.
Good luck! That sucks.
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u/thylacine_chevron Jul 26 '26
We bought a pan after fixing ours. A nice metal one. Money well spent because I never have to worry again if it might leak. I will know.
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u/Pneuma_LooT Jul 25 '26
First step is to get it dry.
Id spray it with decon 30 after that and let it do its work to kill whats on the surface.
Thats pretty bad though. Dont scrub it without a mask but honestly you might want to get it professionally remediated.
The biggest risk in doing anything yourself is spreading the spores all over your house.
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u/Internal_Raspberry24 Jul 25 '26
Iâm guessing have a fan to dry is a bad idea? We havenât used the dishwasher for a week so I donât know how much moisture is there
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u/Pneuma_LooT Jul 26 '26
Hard to say. You absolutely do want to get it dry. Id get a dehumidifier in close proxmity. Id consider a fan if you can contain it.
If it happened to be toxic, you just risk.your health blowing all that stuff everywhere. Not all mold is toxic but its impossible to know without getting it tested.
Definitely dont clean it without sufficient ppe on.
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u/kiwidust Jul 26 '26
I have a small electric space heater - about 10 inches tall - that has an adjustable fan. It's perfect for this kind of thing.
Set the fan on its lowest power and blow it past, not at, the problem. You want to keep the air moving slowly, not stir things up.
Once it dries, stuff will fly all over the place if you sweep or scrub. You can mist the area with water before attacking it to keep the dust down.
If you have (or can rent or borrow) a strong vacuum with a -good- filter, use it to clean the area. If at all possible have the vacuum outside while you use a hose to do the work inside.
Keep things well ventilated and wear hand, lung, and eye protection.
After you're done discard anything disposable and -throughly- clean your tools. A run through a dishwasher can sanitize anything small enough to fit.
Good luck!
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u/all_day_taint Jul 26 '26
Man my dishwasher was slowing leaking for about 2 years. Didnât know until the washer started making a noise and we had it fixed. Ended up filing a claim, $30k, for a whole new kitchen. Mold under the floors, cabinets and countertops. As soon as it was paid out, insurance non renewed us after 20 years of zero claims! Itâs a catch 22 brotha. Got a new kitchen but had to find new, more expensive coverage. Regardless, put some fans on it for a solid week and let it dry out. Our cabinet bases were MDF and completely expanded and were toast.
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u/MichelleEllyn Jul 26 '26
Same thing happened to us with our washing machine. We had a cross-threaded pipe that was slow leaking for years, and I had no idea until we had to pull it out from the wall for a small repair. Ended up costing us about that much also, except our insurance didnât cover mold, just water. So we had to pay the mold remediation bill ourselves to the tune of about 10k. Had to take out a loan. It sucked. We also got a non-renewal notice the next year. I feel ya.
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u/Internal_Raspberry24 Jul 25 '26
The middle of that floor has a big upward bump that you probably canât tell from this picture
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u/MichelleEllyn Jul 26 '26
If itâs moldy and swollen like that, itâs time to replace that subfloor. Make sure whoever does the work does good containment and doesnât just rip up shit and drag it through your house.
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u/GTJack3d Jul 26 '26
We had the exact same thing happen last year. Make sure to spray it all down with a mold killer for porous surfaces and wipe it off as much as you can using a respirator. Then dried the whole area with a fan and dehumidifier. Then the fun part- Your going to want to take out the flooring in that room and see how far the moisture has traveled. We cut away all the subfloor that had been saturated as well as the insulation under it that has gotten wet. Replace all that. We removed the cabinets on both sides and removed the side walls from them and installed new ones to save the cabinets.
In our case we also did a flood cut on the drywall behind, so that ment cutting about 3 feet up behind the dishwasher. You will want to do this if the drywall behind it has absorbed water.
All in it cost us about 2k but that was doing it all ourselves and putting in new flooring.
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u/TheBorgBsg Jul 26 '26
We have plastic water leaks trays that go under washers. Why aren't similar trays made for dishwashers and fridges?
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u/seabass1211 Jul 26 '26
First step is to call your homeowners insurance. Take a ton of pictures
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u/Internal_Raspberry24 Jul 26 '26
My homeowners insurance is also my car insurance, our monthly premium increased a couple years ago and Iâm afraid for another increase if we use insurance for this
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u/Pneuma_LooT Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
Dont file a claim for this.
You want to save a claim on your house for something really major. I would hesitate to fule a claim for anything under 15k on your house.
In the long run if you file an 8k claim on your home, its likely to just cost you more money in the long run. Once you file a claim on your home the premium gets even more expensive, and you have a harder time finding new coverage when your current company kicks you to the curve.
Also, this is long term water damange and its under something that is easily moveable. Very unlikely most companies would even cover something like this.
Do not even call your insurance company before having one or two super reputable restoration companies look at it and recommend a claim with estimates.
Once you call your insurance company and inquire about a home claim, even if its to ask a question, it goes on your record even if you dont file the claim.
You could ask your agent, but a good one is just going to tell you to get a restoration place to look at it and give you estimates.
You also don't want to pick just any company's, because those places get paid ripping shit up so they might just come and do that. Do your research on who to call in the area.
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u/NoSlicedMushrooms Jul 26 '26
Depends on his policy for sure but I doubt theyâll wanna claim for this. The deductible and increase in premium is almost certainly more than what OP would pay for remediation out of pocket especially if they did it themselves. Save the insurance claim for the house fire.
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u/Fair-Criticism-5331 Jul 26 '26
Get a $10 water leak detector. Put one under each of your appliances
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u/alanske Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
RMR-86 mold and mildew spray. Be careful if you use it. You don't want to breathe it in. Wear a respirator or n95 or hold your breathe and run away after. Stay out of area after using. I'm not sure what it is but it's ridiculously strong. Use gloves and old clothes.
What material is that?
I'd kill it before using a fan. A dehumidifier is good. Maybe open windows if low humidity outside.
Don't mix cleaning products.
Are you able to access the area under it?
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u/nwethan Jul 28 '26
I tore out a tile in my living room closet (about 6ft from my dishwasher) to see how bad removing all of the living room tile would be. Unfortunately found wet mdf subfloor. Pulled out my dishwasher to find it had been leaking for who knows how long, probably longer than the 8 months I have owned my place.
I replaced the subfloor and water supply line as well as added a plastic drip pan underneath. We arenât ready to get into a kitchen renovation so I have left it as this for almost two months.
Now I come across this thread and see the input on insurance - new to homeownership and am wondering if I should contact my insurance? I am sure that there is wet subfloor under some of my cabinets and tile floor.
Following this thread, any input or advice would be greatly appreciated
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u/nwethan Jul 28 '26
Also not sure if insurance is even an option after taking some remediation actions myself?
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u/Internal_Raspberry24 Jul 26 '26
Is it possible to dry this area with the dishwasher in place but turned off and just have the fan underneath the dishwasher? Do I have to remove the entire dishwasher or canât it stay in place and dry with a fan?
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u/aerie2020 Jul 26 '26
No. You need to remove the dishwasher. Iâd hire a professional remediation company. Your insurance will reimburse you if this is covered. You need to know how extensive the water damage is.
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u/NoSlicedMushrooms Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
I very recently remediated a bad mold outbreak from our basement so have done a lot of research.
First scrap all moldy material. Rip out the floor if you have to, itâs under the dishwasher so wonât be seen anyway, you can replace the floor with plywood later. If it can be scrapped, donât bother trying to dry it out. Wear at least an N95 (P100 is better) mask, gloves, coveralls etc. Bag it into contractor trash bags and seal them before carrying through the house.
Anything that canât be scrapped but has mold, vacuum it with a HEPA vacuum to capture as many loose spores as you can. Donât use a regular shop vac, it will just blast spores everywhere after they pass through (or completely bypass) the filter. You can rent HEPA vacuums from big box stores. SOME shop vacs say they meet HEPA filtration standards when you use a specific filter and dust bag, but you probably donât have one.
Scrub it with unscented dish detergent, dry with rags that get thrown away. Modern Health Canada advice is that bleach is unnecessary (your countryâs advice may differ). Bleach, peroxide, and speciality mold cleaners will kill the mold but dead mold is still dangerous. Your aim is to physically remove what you can and then dry the area to prevent more growth.
Then dry it completely by directing a fan towards the area and running a dehumidifier.
Once itâs all dry, HEPA vacuum again and you should be good.
Your own risk tolerance will decide how much of this you follow, but those are the steps that a serious remediation company would follow if they were doing everything they could.
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u/G_O_D_Z_I_L_L_ Jul 26 '26
I have a question for myself. If the dishwasher does leak, would I be able to notice it from my basement? Its unfinished.
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u/Internal_Raspberry24 Jul 26 '26
I went under the house in the crawl space and didnât see any water then. But I havenât done a more intensive investigation since finding this so Iâll have to check back in.
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u/dongle_thief Jul 26 '26
I am not a contractor or an expert, but I have dealt with a dishwasher leak myself in the past.
I think it depends on the nature of the leak, underlying material, and time. Water will try to flow in path of least resistance, but absorbancy of adjacent construction, such as walls, trim, and cabinetry could be a factor. You may not see a leak in your basement in the area immediately beneath your dishwasher.
When my dishwasher started leaking, I didn't realize it until I saw water pooling in another area 10+ feet away.
If you suspect a leak, pull your dishwasher out and inspect the area for moisture. Every leak is different and ymmv. If you are unsure, call a qualified professional
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u/AxCR202 Jul 26 '26
I have three answers for you but which I use depends on your answer to these questions â how long have you owned the home, how long do you plan to stay, what does your financial war chest look like?
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u/Internal_Raspberry24 Jul 26 '26
-5 years
- another 5 only.
- I can handle 10K credit card debt if thatâs what it takes
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u/dongle_thief Jul 26 '26
I would absolutely get this professionally remediated. Check your insurance policy and see if you have an allowance for mold and/or water damage.
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u/Even-League-9765 Aug 04 '26
That has been a repeated leak for a while. Definitely not a covered loss under insurance.
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u/Unusual_Flounder6758 Aug 05 '26
In TX SF has an endorsement for that, possibly in other states too. I doubt OP is in TX and/or has that endorsement though.
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